Antipsychotics

What is Psychosis?

Psychosis is characterized as disruptions to a person’s thoughts and perceptions that make it difficult for them to recognize what is real and what isn’t. These disruptions are often experienced as seeing, hearing, and believing things that aren’t real or having strange, persistent thoughts, behaviors, and emotions.


Psychosis: Includes a range of symptoms but typically involves one of these two major experiences:

Hallucinations are seeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren’t there, such as the following:

  • Hearing voices (auditory hallucinations)

  • Strange sensations or unexplainable feelings

  • Seeing glimpses of objects or people that are not there or distortions


Delusions are strong beliefs that are not consistent with the person’s culture, are unlikely to be true, and may seem irrational to others, such as the following:

  • Believing external forces are controlling thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

  • Believing that trivial remarks, events, or objects have personal meaning or significance

  • Thinking you have special powers, are on a special mission, or even that you are God


5 Symptoms of Schizophrenia

  1. Delusions: These are false beliefs that you hold when there’s plenty of evidence that those beliefs are wrong. For example, you might think that someone is controlling what you think, say, or do

  2. Hallucinations: You still think you can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste things that don’t exist, like hearing voices

  3. Disorganized or incoherent speaking: You may have trouble organizing your thoughts while speaking. This might look like trouble staying on topic, or your thoughts might be so jumbled that people can’t understand you.

  4. Disorganized or unusual movements: You might move differently than people around you expect. For example, you may turn around a lot for no clear reason, or you might not move much at all.

  5. Negative symptoms: These refer to a reduction or loss of ability to do things as expected. For example, you might stop making facial expressions or speak with a flat, emotionless voice. Negative symptoms also include a lack of motivation, especially when you don’t want to socialize or do things you ordinarily enjoy.


Antipsychotics

Manage disordered thoughts and personality behaviors

  • Delusional Disorder

  • Hallucinations

  • Mania

  • Bipolar Disorder

  • Severe agitation or anxiety

  • Major depressive disorder

  • Schizophrenia (mental and emotional fragmentation and faulty reality perception)


Types of Antipsychotics

  • First Generation/Typical Antipsychotics

  • Second Generation/Atypical Antipsychotics


Antipsychotic medications can help to calm and clear confusion in a person with acute psychosis within hours or days, but they can take up to four or six weeks to reach their full effect. These medications can help to control symptoms, but they do not cure the underlying condition. When taken over a longer term, antipsychotics can help to prevent further episodes of psychosis.


Typical Antipsychotics Have Significant Extrapyramidal Symptoms

These are drug-induced movement disorders. They may include:

  • Dystonia: Uncontrolled muscle contractions that cause repetitive movements and abnormal posture

  • Akathisia: A state of restlessness

  • Parkinsonism: A disorder causing tremors, slow movements, and rigidity

  • Tardive Dyskinesia: A chronic condition causing repetitive muscle movements in the face, neck, arms, and legs

  • Tardive Akathisia: A delayed start of akathisia after starting an antipsychotic drug